Progressing Love
by nekoramen123
Summary: After the Edolas Craze, Jellal is back from prison! And at everyone's favourite guild, Fariy Tail, Jellal is there to proclaim his love for Erza, but will she accept his declaration? will she deny his love? What will Jellal do if she rejects him? Will they become a couple? Will their relationship from friends, to more than friends blossom?
1. Jellal's Return

**(this is my first fan fic, please, no expectations...it's JellalxErza or JerZa)**

**(Maybe OOC for a lot of Characters)**

**SUMMARY: Jellal is back! and there at the guild to proclaim his love for Erza, but will she accept his declaration? Will she deny his love? What will Jellal do if she rejects him? Will they become a couple? **

**(It's pretty obvious which choice does Erza make. I think...I Don't know, I'll figure it out...)**

After the Edolas craze, it was just another peaceful day at Fairy Tail in the town of Magnolia, Natsu and Gray were having quarrels, Lucy was sitting at the bar complaining to Mirajane about the loss of jewels(Money) and Erza sitting peacefully eating her strawberry cake. It was a normal day until a very specific person came to their guild. When he was in sight, right at the opening of the doors, the entire guild froze and turned their gaze to that single man. Jellal stood at the front of the guild, Erza stood shocked and unable to move, " J-Jellal...is that you?"

She couldn't believe her eyes, Jellal was back, but how? Jellal was locked up in prison.  
>"Yes, it is me, Erza. How have you been? I've missed you so much..." Jellal just kept a calm expression and walked quietly with a gentle smile towards Erza. She was trying to keep her calm and resisting herself from crying, she couldn't though, it was Jellal, her long-separated childhood friend. Tears started rolling down her cheeks as Jellal wrapped his arms around her, forgetting that the entire guild was watching the scene between the two. Erza, feeling Jellal's warmth embrace her, folded her own arms around Jellal, responding to the hug and burrowed her crying face in the crook of his neck.<p>

" Why? Why are you here? You should still be locked up in the prison of the Magic Council." Erza said full of tears.

" I know, but they let me go, they don't really have much suspicion on me any longer. In a way, I'm free and I'm planning on joining this guild, to be with you. But I am being under surveillance." Jellal replied, and tightened his grip slightly around Erza, not caring if Doranbalt was watching him. Erza's shocked face just looked up at Jellal's, full of tenderness and no intent to kill, like it was back then at the tower of heaven incident. "Erza, if you're willing enough to forgive me of what I tried to do to you at the tower of heaven, I would be the happiest man alive, knowing that my best friend is willing to forget about all the horrible things I've done and acknowledging me for the good things of me. "

Erza then pulled away from the hug a little bit, her crying had stopped, still in Jellal's arms, "It's alright, I've already forgiven you." She smiled happily at Jellal. His smiling face changed in slight shock, it has been a long time since he had seen Erza's sweet smile, not since the two of them had been separated by the Magic Council after the Oracion Seis battle. Jellal then snapped out of his trance and gripped Erza's shoulders lightly and leaned forward, bringing their faces closer than comfort. Both mages' own faces heat up as they felt each other's breaths against each other, and their lips had now met. Erza was stunned, while Jellal's eye's closed in content and deepened their kiss.

Jellal then pulled back just enough to see Erza's face, he looked at her lovingly, full of adoration and gentleness. "Erza, I love you, please stay by my side, forever..."

Erza was in even more shock and confusion, she said nothing as the entire guild responded for her instead, "WHAT?"

"Oh My..." Mirajane just responded, fascinated in the relationship between the two.

"I-I-I'M SORRY!" Erza screamed in embarrassment and dashed off like a road runner, and out of the guild. Jellal's heart sank in deep disappointment and his entire being consumed in sadness. The guild was completely quiet.

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><p>Erza then ran all the way to her dormitory room and slammed the door behind her and slumped against it. She was totally freaking out to Jellal's confession, <em>'should I say yes? Or no? Oh No! I just ran away only with a sorry! Did he take it the wrong way? I should go back and apologize, but I can't face everyone at the guild! Especially when Jellal maybe still there and there's no way I could face Natsu or Gray without their strange remarks and jokes of me!<em>' Erza thought nervously.

All of a sudden, there was a knock to the door, Erza jumped in alert and shock when the door had open behind her. "Is everything alright Erza?" asked the petite mage named Levy.

"Of course! Nothing's wrong!" She said, trying to cover up any evidence of what could have happened at the guild, good thing Levy wasn't there, at least one person didn't know what happened...

"Uh-Hunhhh..." Levy eyed her suspiciously and left the room. Erza just sighed and plops herself face-first on her bed, then rolled over and stares at the ceiling with a lot on her mind.

'_What should I really do? Do I still love him like I did back then as kids? Did my feelings toward him change over time? Why would such a handsome guy like Jellal love me? I'm just a normal gir- WAIT! Did I just call him H-HANDSOME?_ _What does that mean?_' Erza was just flustered at the thought of Jellal in her own version proposing to her.

***Erza's Imagination***

_**"Erza..." said a deep, rich familiar voice that could only belong to Jellal. He was dressed in a white tuxedo with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a gold ring in his other, he kneeled in front of Erza, "Erza, these red roses may be beautiful, but not as enchanting as your silky scarlet red hair and your alluring deep brown eyes. All I want you to know is, I LOVE you!~ PLEASE MARRY ME ERZA SCARLET!" Jellal then stood up, dropped the flowers and ring then grabbed her hands with stars in his eyes, "We'll get married! Then we'll have our honeymoon in Hargeon! And then you'll give birth to MANY wonderful children! We'll be a happy family! Ha ha ha ha ha!"Jellal laughed in a jolly manner.**_

***End of Imagination***

"GAAAAHHHH!" Erza yelled in horror as she sprang up from her bed and shot her eyes open. She then regained her composure from the scream and just sat there quietly. A couple moments later, Erza then processed the fantasy she just made up and her face grew steamy. Why had she thought of this? Did she really like him? She grew so nervous she started to pace around her room in circles. Eventually, she screamed again and long enough until the door opened again.

**Chapter 1: End**

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I used such a lame excuse for Jellal getting out of Prison, but I don't care! I'll just use it anyway! Couldn't think of anything at all! ;P Meh**


	2. Helping out a Friend

**Chapter 2**

As Erza let out her scream of frustration, she stopped immediately as soon as she heard the door squeak open and jumped around to face the intruder. Only to see a celestial wizard named Lucy in front of her. "Erza? Are you alright?"

"I'm just fine Lucy, thank you." Erza smiled. "Anyway, why are you here? You don't live in the dorms here."

"Well, I was asked by Jellal to check on you, because you just ran away. Jellal looked really hurt when you just ditched him but he looked worried as well." When Erza heard the name Jellal, her smile dropped instantly. '_Why would Jellal want to worry about me? I just practically tore his heart into two, so why?_' Erza thought quietly. "I think you should go back to the guild and apologize to him, Erza. Tell Jellal how you feel about him, after you apologize, of course." Lucy smiled gently. Lucy was right, how can she face Jellal ever again without getting through all this mess? The only way was to avoid him the rest of her life which was basically impossible.

"You know what Lucy? You're right, I need to apologize to him, even if i don't love him, it would mean that I would have to reject him. But a part of me wants to stay here and not say sorry, while the other wants to. What do I do Lucy?" Erza said as she turned her eyes to her feet.

"Erza..." Lucy whispered quietly. "You know what? You remind me of myself when Natsu asked me out!" Erza's gaze then slowly came to Lucy's eyes. "It was when you were out on a solo mission to get some jewels.(money) Sorry I didn't tell you about our relationship, it was because we didn't want anyone finding out and fussing about every single thing we do together. Besides Natsu, Happy, Gray, Juvia, Lisanna and I, you're the only one who knows about this. Lisanna had asked Natsu out, but he turned her down for me. Lisanna knew already that Natsu liked me but she just asked him anyway. Now the two of them are getting along pretty well and are good friends. So when Natsu asked me out, I just ran away just like you did because I didn't want to embarrass myself and Natsu."

"Wow...I didn't think Natsu could be such a girl magnet..." Erza said surprisingly. Lucy just laughed at Erza's silliness and grinned as wide as she can.

"But you know Erza, you'll never get by life if you don't deal with problems, especially personal romance. How about this, we get back to the guild together and you can say sorry, don't worry, I'll be there by your side the whole time, I mean not actually beside you...but you get what I mean!" Lucy said.

"Thanks Lucy, I appreciate the help. Now I really feel like I can just walk into the guild carelessly and ignore all the problems" Erza said as she stood up. Lucy was always one to encourage people really well, whenever someone is feeling down she comes straight away to that person and makes them laugh and forget their worries. "Let's go back, to Fairy Tail." Erza smiled.

Lucy looked at the re-quip mage slightly shocked. She didn't think that Erza could recover so quickly after a time of nervous break-downs. No wonder Erza is so strong, she gets the power from her friends, "Yeah! " Lucy stood up as well. "Every one's waiting for us, Jellal too." Erza just looked back at her and her eyes softened.

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><p>"I presume you want to join this guild, Jellal?" The third master of Fairy Tail asked.<p>

"Yes, I plan to join this guild for Erza's sake, so I can protect her from danger and make her my lover. Of course, you don't have to force yourself to let me into the guild, I understand if you don't accept me, after all I've done to your guild and making the council fire Etherion..." Jellal calmly stated with a straight face.

"All children who wish to redeem themselves for the crimes they have done are accepted into this guild. Particularly when they have love in them, it's a sign that they have a part of them that is caring for others and not only himself, especially when it's for a dear friend." Makarov said. The guild master then pulled out the Fairy Tail guild stamp from his desk drawer and stared at the blue haired mage solemnly, "When you are in this guild, you shall promise not to bring harm to any of the members, because in Fairy Tail, we are family. We watch out each other and protect the ones we love; do you keep your word to always stay loyal to your friends and your loved ones? If this vow is destroyed, you shall be expelled immediately from this guild."

"Yes, I vow to always protect everyone in Fairy Tail from harm and stay by everyone's side at all times through thick and thin." Jellal said firmly. And so, Jellal bent down to the height of the short guild master and rolled up his right sleeve, as the elderly man walked closer to Jellal and stamped the marker on his upper arm, roughly where Natsu's emblem was.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail, your new family..." Makarov said happily. All of a sudden, an unexpected knock came from the door.

"Master," called a sweet voice that could only recognized as Mirajane. " Someone is here to see Jellal, do you think you can let her in?"

'_Why would anyone want to see me? Maybe it's Droanbalt or someone from the council…l_' But Jellal least expected the most possible person to see him, Erza.

The old man cleared his throat and replied, "Enter." And with the master's permission, the doors slowly creaked open, revealing a nervous Erza beside a smiling Mirajane and a hiding Lucy behind the doors who was unnoticed.

Jellal's eyes doubled their sizes and at the sight of the group of girls, specifically at a certain red-haired mage that he's infatuated with, "Erza!"

**Chapter 2: End**

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><p>(AN): Thanks to all who have read this fanfic! Lately I've been thinking that JerZa isn't as popular like the other pairings… SO! If you guys got any friends that like JerZa, share it with them! Thanks! R&R! Also, I'll probably be updating at random times. Or too much homework or I'm busy….There may be some OOC'ness in it too, I'm not sure….


	3. Planning First Dates!

**Chapter 3**

Thanks For Reading! R&R!

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><p>…. "Erza!" The Jellal said to himself aloud. Said red haired woman just smiled gently towards his direction and averted her gaze to her feet shortly after, never fading the slightly sad smile during the process. Then the room was quiet, the feeling of the tension was practically crushing and awkward at the same time. No one dared to speak until the master cleared his throat once more, breaking the silence so that everyone gave their attention to the man.<p>

" I think we better leave the two of you alone now..." the Master announced, as he walked towards the doors. Without looking back, he led the rest of the girls back outside the entrance of the master's office and closed the large doors slowly. As soon as the doors were closed, Makarov's serious face instantly switched to a more curious one and pressed his ear against the door, hoping to hear something good with the company of Lucy listening too, wanting to know the conversation between the two was talking about.

"So..." The Blue haired mage started, not daring to steal even a peak at Erza's eyes.  
>"So..." The mage across him repeated. "Look Jellal, about what happened earlier-"<p>

"Wait." Jellal cut off Erza, "Before you say anything, I would like our conversation _PRIVATE."_He then walked past his childhood friend and stopped immediately at the arrival of the door. He pulled the doors wide open quickly, only to see the old master and Lucy falling in front of Jellal's feet. Jellal's bangs lowered and covered the expression of his eyes, making everyone unable to see the mage's face. He lifted his face up enough so that only the two eavesdroppers could see. His facial expression remained calm though his eyes sent daggers at the two. There was something significant about his eyes that made anyone back off from him and run away.

"WE'RE TERRIBLY SORRY!" the two said in unison, as they got up and bowed low as possible and ran away. Mirajane only smiled sweetly and walked away after the rushing people.

"Alright, that should take care of them." Jellal said triumphantly. All of a sudden, as Erza saw the trio leave she felt a sudden emptiness inside her.

'_Lucy! NO! Don't leave me alone with Jellal! You said you'd be with me the whole time!_' Erza thought to herself while Jellal had his back turned to her. The blue haired man then started to turn himself around, but the female mage just didn't want to see him just yet, even if she made up her own mind to face him, she finally regretted coming to talk to him. So she moved her gaze from Jellal's back to the sight of her own boots.

Jellal noticed Erza's distress and only smiled to himself about it. He then walked towards the nervous mage and held out his arms to hug her. Erza didn't notice the man's actions; she only heard the sounds of Jellal's boots hitting the floor as he walked. Every step he took, Jellal was closer to her. Her face only flushed a healthy, ripe red and squeezed her eyes shut tightly as possible.

"Erza…" the man mumbled to himself again. The stepping noise finally stopped, but Erza didn't dare open her eyes. She wanted to believe that being unable to see meant that you couldn't see and know all the fears of the world, so that she didn't have to face this problem with her old friend. She was then pulled into a firm embrace, filled with warm kindness and love. She instantly shot her eyes open in complete shock, not expecting the hug Jellal was giving her now. She didn't know if she wanted to return the hug or not. It was the same, she didn't know if she loved Jellal the way she did back when they were kids. Of course there had been admirers of Erza, but she always ends up turning them down, only because they were complete strangers. But this time was different; this was a good friend of hers. She doesn't want to reject him because it can affect the relationship between them, but if she does say that she loves him, that would only be lying to herself because she doesn't know how she really feels towards Jellal right now.

"Jellal…" Erza said his name quietly.

Jellal only gave out a long sigh of stress and of slight bliss. He nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck and smiled against it. "We're finally alone…" His rich, toned voice spoke up, "It's been a while since we were like this…Since the Tower of Heaven…" He whispered in her ear. Jellal's breath had made contact with Erza's sensitive ear and it made her shiver a little bit. The blue haired mage only smiled with a small chuckle at the nervous girl and kissed her forehead and put his own against it.

"A-about e-earlier t-today…I just wanted to say sorry for running away…"Erza stuttered. Jellal only lifted his head up and stared at her in mild shock with his mouth gaping slightly open. He didn't expect an apology from her. He then closed it quickly, smiled after and his eyes then softened at her.

"It's alright, I understand, you were nervous and the whole guild was watching. Who wouldn't be scared?" He assured Erza.

The armor-clad woman smiled back sweetly, "Thanks, I feel a lot better now, but I don't think you'd feel any better after I tell you this…Listen, Jellal, I'm not sure about becoming your lover just yet, I want to get to know you more, since you changed and all, I want to know the new Jellal after coming out of prison." Her face then changed to a very grim one, she then pushed herself out of Jellal's Arms. His face directly changed from happy to displeasure. He knew what that meant, Erza doesn't love him.

"I see…Is this your final answer?" Jellal asked while trying to hide the sadness within him. Erza knew him too well; she can already see the pain-filled face Jellal was attempting to cover.

"That's not exactly true, I didn't say 'No,' but I said I wanted to get to know you more. But there still is a chance where the two of us can be together" Erza said smiling, giving hope to Jellal. Erza's hand held Jellal's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. His face warped back to happiness and small enthusiasm, knowing that he could possibly be with Erza.

But there was one question, how?

"But in what way can I win the way to gain your love and heart Erza?" Jellal asked determined.

Erza turned from Jellal's view, showing her back to him. "To that question, I don't know…I'm not sure actually..."

Jellal just stood still in confusion, "I don't understand Erza, what do you mean 'there is no way'?"

"Back then, I used to think that no one can take my heart. If I don't give my heart to anyone, there will be no one to hurt me emotionally. I can live happy single for the rest of my life; I don't need anyone to take care of me or the other way around, it's just too much trouble." Erza turned her head and smiled sadly. Jellal was speechless, did that mean she couldn't she accept his love? She's known him for a long time, she knows that he'd never hurt her feelings! "Don't think there's an exception for you either, just because I've known you since we were kids doesn't mean that I _will_fall for you. I only want the two of us to be friends again, I want to live a clean life as your friend and forget about what you did to me at the tower of heaven just for now. In the future, my heart may open up even, though I'm unsure what to think of you now."

" I see..." Jellal averted his gaze to the floor, away from the female mage. He didn't want to let Erza see his disappointed face again, but Erza could tell that he was making a face she wouldn't like.

Erza didn't want Jellal to feel that way, so she came up with a plan. "We may not be able to be a couple that can be together all the time, but I _did _say that we can be friends that can hang out" She smiled sweetly at him.

Jellal's eyes brightened again immediately and looked up at her, "really?" He asked hopeful once more. Erza only nodded happily because he cheered up right away.

"I'm actually free tomorrow; do you wanna do something together?" Erza asked suggestively.

Jellal's was surprised; he never thought that Erza would ask him to do something with her right away, "I'd love to. Besides, hanging out can catch the both of us up from our past experiences." He smiled, he was happy that he can be with Erza.

"Good, we'll meet up at the 8Island at seven PM." As that was said by the Scarlet mage, she bid her goodbyes to Jellal and she walked out of the room, leaving a silently excited Jellal behind.

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><p>After Jellal had chased out Mirajane, Lucy and the master, the three had moved to the bar. Mira had been cleaning glasses while she was talking to Lucy who was sitting on one of the<p>

stools and the master sitting on top of the bar. "I wonder how Erza is doing with Jellal..." The celestial wizard sighed.

The bartender only chuckled at the blonde's curiosity and continued her job and the master only nodded and said, "We all know that Jellal and Erza are childhood friends, so there's  
>nothing to worry if Erza is going to get hurt."<p>

Lucy slumped her body against the bar surface and sighed again; she hasn't been this worried about the red haired mage in her life before. Let alone being worried about Erza at all! "Lucy!" A familiar voice came behind her as the body of the voice pressed against her back. Muscular arms wrapped around her and pulled her back into contact to a firm chest.

"Natsu!" Lucy said in surprise when she caught view of the pinkette's happy face.

"Lucy, do you want to go on a spying mission tomorrow at seven?" The enthusiastic dragon slayer asked.

"Sure!" Lucy grinned back. "But why?"

"Well, because of my awesome dragon hearing skills, I overheard Jellal and Erza talking about going on a date! I never knew Erza would be the type to go on a date with a guy! So I decided to spy on them, with the company of my girlfriend of course! Just make sure to meet me at the front of 8Island tomorrow, slightly earlier so that we can't be found out." The dragon slayer said as he let go of Lucy to turn her around to face him.

Erza then came out of the Master's office; the whole group talking at the bar stopped along with the rest of the master and turned their heads to the ex-quip mage the rest of the guild was also worried for Erza so they secretly listened in on them. She walked towards them and she smiled, "So what did I miss while I was gone?" Everyone got the message that Erza was acting normally and that Jellal didn't do anything bad to her, so they went back to what they were doing.

"Nothing really! Natsu and I were just planning a date, that's all!" Lucy nervously said. She wasn't exactly lying to her… After all, Natsu and her are going to spy on her _together _so that basically can be called a date right?

"Yeah! That's exactly right!" Natsu widely grinned.

"I see…I hope the two of you will enjoy your date then." Erza then grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her away, "Speaking of dates, come with me Lucy. I need your help." The scarlet mage then dragged her to another table, "Tell me Lucy…How do first dates go?" She wasn't exactly going on a date with Jellal, but a hangout with him. Though she should know what can happen to two people when they go and "hangout" because anything can happen when two people are alone.

"Hmm…I'm not sure how _should_first dates go, but I can tell you how my first date went with Natsu!" Lucy offered, the mage sitting across Lucy only nodded to let her talk about her first date, " Well it started off with Natsu coming by my apartment to pick me up to where we're going. We then walked together holding hands to a fancy restaurant close to the guild. We talked about things until the food came. We ate and then stayed another hour in our seats. Though only talking for about 45 minutes, the rest of the 15 minutes were just the two of us looking at each other's eyes and saying nothing. It felt like we were communicating to each other, as if we were connected, but we weren't talking at all!" Lucy blushed happily as she remembered the unforgettable night she spent with Natsu. Erza only looked at the blushing Lucy with eyes big as saucers; she never knew Natsu could be the romantic type, "Oh Yeah! After we left the restaurant, he brought me to the grand tree at the center of Magnolia! It was Christmas at that time so there were colorful lights decorated on the tree. As the Grand Clock tower's bells rang at the sound of Midnight, he silently whispered to me that he loved me and kissed me!" Lucy then writhed in happiness and joy in her chair with the thought of Natsu kissing her on the lips.

Erza was now thinking hard now, _'is that how Jellal and I are going to be tomorrow night?' _She nervously thought. There was only one way to find out, to meet up with Jellal tomorrow night on their so-called 'date.' "Lucy, help me pick out a dress for tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Chapter 3:End<strong>

(A/N!): SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR MONTHS! SCHOOL JUST GETS IN THE WAY OF EVERYTHING, AND I'M ALWAYS STAYING UP LATE DOING HOMEWORK!(I'm a Procrastinator) Y'all been there before right? Thanks to bubbleboss1022, i was for some reason, motivated to update... and nickychua telling me to update back at school.

Anyways to those who check out my profile and read the part about Fairy Tail, and wonder why I'm even writing a Fairy Tail fanfic, it was supposed to be a short story with a cliff hanger to my friends I wrote on email where I stopped at where Jellal asked Erza out. But they told me to continue haha. I guess I like Fairy Tail now! But Fairy Tail will probably be the only **STRAIGHT **pairings and only fanfics I write because I have innocent friends who are reading! Plus I can't think of any yaoi stories when I just **LOVE **to read them…especially Blue Exorcist


	4. Harsh Humiliation

**Chapter 4**

Thanks for reading again! R&R please!

Oh yea, there will be minor pairings (as you guessed) NatsuxLucy, GrayxJuvia, and JellalxErza! (duh)

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><p><em>"Lucy, help me pick out a dress for tomorrow."<em>

Erza had gripped Lucy's wrist and dragged her again to the town boutique. "Hey Erza? Wouldn't it be easier to just wear one of the dresses you have from your magic?"

Erza only smiled at her when they got to the front door, "Lucy, I want the dress I'm about to buy to be special. I'm meeting up with Jellal tomorrow evening to talk about things."

'_Yeah, I already know that...I'm going with Natsu to spy on you!' _Lucy really wanted to say that in front of her red haired friend because she was excited and already knew what Erza was up to. "I see. Anyway, since I'm going on a date with Natsu, I think I'll pick a dress as well!" She chirped.

For the next three hours of that afternoon, the two mages spent their entire time in the dress shop, in the fitting rooms trying on clothes for their _'dates.' _"How does this look on me, Erza?" Lucy had tried on her hundredth piece of clothing.

"I think this one is the best, Lucy." Erza smiled.

"Thanks!" she excitedly said, "I'll take it then!"

"I'm sure Natsu'd like the clothes you're wearing, but I'm still not sure about which one I'll take..." Erza frowned.

"Well..." Lucy said in slight frustration for her friend who couldn't find a good dress. "I liked the dress you had that you wore during that time we went to the resort before your friends from the tower of heaven came. You know, the purple dress with red roses on them!" Lucy cheered.

"Are you sure Lucy? I've only worn it once and that was an occasion for the casino!" Erza back talked.

"Yes, I'm sure." The blonde grinned, "If you wore it once, it still makes that specific dress still special!"

"Okay then, I won't need a new dress then..." Erza looked unsure.

After Lucy had purchased her clothes, the two walked back to the guild. Erza froze once she entered through the doors, there she saw Jellal sitting at a table talking to Natsu, Gray and Juvia. Natsu had picked up his girlfriend's scent and turned his attention to the girls at the door. "Lucy!" Natsu childishly exclaimed. He was waving his right arm around wildly at the two and smiled his trademark grin, which also caught the attention of the other three.

"Hi!" Lucy happily replied. She then rushed over to the group of mages and sat down on one of the two chairs Natsu had pulled to the table for the girls, her place was in between Natsu and Juvia. The dragonslayer then wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. When Lucy ran to the table of her friends, Erza was left all alone, standing still as stone at the front of the door. "Erza! Come sit with us!" The ex-quip mage said nothing as her gaze found the sight of Jellal's glance at her. She didn't want to go at all, but her legs for some reason protested and moved all on its own. She then found herself sitting between Jellal to her left and Natsu to her right.

Jellal sat in the middle of Erza and Gray, Erza sat beside Jellal and Natsu as said before, and Natsu was next to Lucy who was beside Juvia and Gray who sat between Juvia, his girlfriend and Jellal. It was silent now, and no one dared to break the awkward feeling amongst the group. Until Natsu couldn't take it any longer, "Come on! Is anyone willing to talk?" he broke out. Everyone in the guild turned their heads to the salmon haired boy. He then paused for a moment, and then shrunk back into his seat in embarrassment. The rest of the table only laughed at the flushed boy. Jellal was the first to stop and see the rest of table laugh. Then he saw at the corner of his eye, Erza giggling at Natsu's silliness; somehow, he found it...Cute? Jellal smiled to himself at the image of his love laughing sweetly. He turned  
>to the rest of the group sitting around the table and noticed something very specifically between everyone besides Erza and himself. Gray had his arm curled around Juvia's waist while laughing, Natsu had his arm around Lucy's shoulder and Jellal had his own hands kept to himself.<p>

Jellal decided to go home and stood up, "Well, I better be going back to my dorm now..." he announced, then leaned to Erza's ear, "See you tomorrow night~" he quietly whispered for Erza only to hear. Erza flushed bright red and shot herself out of her seat. "I better get home too." Erza stated and walked hurriedly towards the door with her head down from anyone seeing her face. Jellal couldn't help but chuckle at her.

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><p>*<strong>Erza's POV*<strong>

_'how could I let my guard down? I was so humiliated!_' Once Erza stepped out if the guild, she started to stomp angrily back to her dorm rooms, thinking about what Jellal just did. _'How will I face Jellal tomorrow? He smirked at me with too much conifdence and that totally pissed me off! Oh well, I guess I can't do anything about it until tomorrow.'_ She jumped into bed and pulled the covers over her. _'Today was a long day...'_with that thought in her mind, her eyelids shut and she drifted to sleep.

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><p><em>The next day <em>

Erza woke up to the light chirping sounds of the local birds along with the bright golden sun's rays shining upon her face. She looked out of the window, _'Today is my 'date' with Jellal...I just hope everything will be okay...'_she sat up of her bed and stretched her stiff body from sleeping. She departed from her bed to the bathroom at the end of her room. She refreshed herself by taking a shower and brushing her teeth. After that, she headed for the exit of her dorm and to the guild to see her teammates and her guild members.

A sweet girl with silver hair was cleaning glasses at the bar; Mirajane had caught sight of the red haired mage, "Good morning Erza!" The gleeful bartender said. Erza only smiled back and slightly nodded as a greeting in return.

Erza found her teammates Natsu, Lucy and Gray along with Gray's girlfriend Juvia at his side all drinking tea, when Lucy's eyes found the sight of Erza she called out for her, "Erza come sit with us!" There was an empty chair beside her, waiting for the ex-quip mage to sit on. The group was used to sitting all at one table, that they always have the exact same amount of chairs around it.

_'Always waiting for me huh?' _Erza thought. She smiled as her morning haze went away when she thought of her loyal friends. She walked over to the group of friends and sat beside Juvia and Lucy. Erza noticed that each person around the table had a lover besides her, just like Jellal had thought. _'Good thing Jellal isn't here...' _The armored mage looked around to find the blue haired mage she was thinking of.

"Erza? Erza!" Lucy called out to catch Erza's attention. The dazed mage turned around giving Lucy her attention. "What were you looking for Erza? You seem really troubled." The celestial mage said worriedly.

"It's nothing! Nothing at all..." The scarlet mage drifted off.

"Anyway Erza! I'll help you prepare for your date tonight!" The blonde exclaimed cheerfully.

The whole guild grew quiet and stared at the table where Lucy had loudly volunteered. Lucy's words also got the attention of the master, Makarov. A few moments passed and everyone in the guild besides the table of Team Natsu roared in laughter, "Erza? Date? Ha! UNBELIEVABLE!" Wakaba said bursting in laughter hysterically. Erza stood up immediately from her stool and Wakaba then continued with his teasing, "Who is it? I bet it's Jellal! After all, he did _kiss _you!" that sentence made everyone giggle or laugh harder and shut their eyes from laughing too hard. The Scarlet mage clenched her fists hard and face flush bright red that can possibly compare to her hair. She walked up to Wakaba without anyone noticing other than Team Natsu and Juvia. She raised her arm and thrust her fist as hard as she could against Wakaba's right cheek. The impact was strong enough to send the brunette mage flying across the guild building and up the stairs. The laughing continued until the injured mage hit the second floor.

It was a good thing that her table of friends didn't bother laughing because they already knew what would happen if they did laugh, it would end up into disaster. "Anyone else wanna start something?" The furious mage asked loudly so that everyone could hear. No one said anything, not even the guild members that were drunk. They were obviously drunk by their faces, though they kept quiet enough that many could've possibly thought that they weren't.

"Now, now Erza... There's nothing to get upset over, he was just teasing." The master said from the bar top he was sitting on.

"H-He's r-right Erza...Come on, just s-sit back down..." Lucy stuttered, being scared of Erza's fierceness. Erza slowly turned around which scared Lucy. Natsu's hold around Lucy's shoulders pulled her closer to his body in fear of her hurting the blonde. The fearsome mage sighed and smiled gently at the celestial mage. She lowered down to her chair and sighed again then took a sip of tea on from her cup.

Everyone, once again, kept silent and only watched the now relaxed mage sipping her tea. No one dared to talk once. A few moments later, due to the silence in the room, there were footsteps coming towards near the guild.

As everyone stood quietly, the door of the guild squeaked open. And there stood a man of ocean blue hair, hazel brown eyes, and a tattoo under his right eye. All attention then switched to the newcomer at the door. Jellal then gave a confused look, "What? Is there something wrong?" Then at the center of the guild, sat a calm and collected Erza, drinking her cup of tea. "Oh, I see..." Telling by the faces of the guild, he definitely knew something had happened with Erza and the guild. He swallowed and proceeded to enter the building, trying his best to ignore the mute faces everyone gave off.

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><p>(AN): hello dear readers! Thanks for reading Progressing Love! I'm going camping this week, so I can't update, usually when I stop updating for once, I can't continue cuz I'm lazy! So I'm gonna update early today as a treat! I might write another chapter while I'm gone at camp though! Can't wait 'till they get on with the date! I got a whole bunch of ideas, but for the continuation of this chapter...I got nothing...

To my dear readers: R&R! Until then my dear readers!

Oh yea, If there's any spelling mistakes or grammar, don't be afraid to correct me! I'm usually a grammar police, and i freak out sometimes about that stuff, but I'm not good with correcting myself, only others...

~Mattea with loveeee!


	5. Jobs and Preparation

**Chapter 5**

Jellal reached Erza's table, he took an unoccupied chair from somewhere and pulled it over to the table. He took a seat beside Natsu and Gray, and then everyone was silent. The entire place was quiet and unbearable, so much it was suffocating.

From the bar, Mirajane wanted everyone return back to their daily lives. So she gave a pleading look to Makarov quietly sending a message to ask him to break the tension. The master cleared his throat, "what are you all standing around for? Go back to what you were all doing." With that said everyone turned their backs and either started drinking or talking to their companions again. The guild was back to its regular behavior now.

"So…" Jellal started awkwardly at the table, "what were you guys talking about before I arrived?"

Lucy perked up at Jellal's words. Natsu could see the nervousness in her eyes that she didn't want him finding out what she just said about Erza's 'date'. So he covered up for her before she started stuttering, blowing their cover, "Nothing at all! Nothing really! Erza just arrived, so we didn't really talk about anything!" Now Natsu had no idea what to say, until he remembers, "Oh yea! I forgot to mention this!" Natsu pulls out a flier, "let's go out on a mission! Jellal can come join us!"

Lucy added to Natsu's excuse of a plan, "I think that's a great idea! It would let us get to know Jellal bet-"

"There's no way I'm going on another mission with flame brain here, not with him destroying everything in every step he takes. Why don't we all go _without_ this loose fire here?" Gray suggests. There was a faint 'hey!' coming from his side, which was most likely Natsu.

"Why don't we let him into this mission? I think he can handle controlling himself... I think…" Juvia interrupted. Another 'hey!' can be heard from Natsu again.

While Natsu and Gray's bickering continued, Erza and Jellal took a look at the discarded mission flier on the table, "hmm…" Erza analyzed the paper, "This job wouldn't be so bad a subjugation mission in the center of Bosco, east of Fiore," the job didn't sound so bad, but the only problem is that Jellal may be coming along, "that will take us a day to reach northwest of Bosco by train, then another two days to walk by feet to the center of Bosco, our destination. And the reward is 2,000,000 Jewels!" Erza kept looking at the price of the reward, juggling the fact that she can have a large amount of jewels, but the thought of having Jellal around as well.

Natsu paused his fighting with Gray and said, "Haha! Nice pay huh? I figured it'd be a piece of cake with you and Jellal on our side, you two fight like _monsters_!" Erza glared at Natsu, "haha…I mean, you two are the strongest mages alive!" Natsu automatically corrected himself in fear. "It's not a bad job is it?"

Before Erza could say something about it Jellal immediately agreed to the job, "I think it's an excellent mission to go on." There was no way Erza could say no to Jellal now, he looked excited.

Erza sighed, there's no going back now, even though she didn't get a word in on this, "then it's settled then, when do we initiate this mission?"

"Next week!" Natsu announced, and then received a punch in the face by Gray. Lucy rose from her chair and rushed to Natsu's aid, along with Juvia, preventing Gray to cause any further damage to the guild and Natsu.

The blue and red haired duo sat together watching the girls tending to their lover. After a few moments, Jellal stood up from his chair, "I'll see you tonight, Erza…" Jellal said as he turned to Erza and left. Erza only nodded him off and watched him leave the guild doors.

"_Yeah, I guess I'll be seeing you tonight, on our date…" _ The redhead thought to herself. She sighed and rose from her chair as well and walked over to the four sitting on the ground. She had been sighing a lot about everything. It was frustrating enough for her to only think about Jellal all day, not to mention the dream she had about him the first day he came back. The dream was nothing more than mere fantasy in her mind, but it came back to her nearly every night.

When Erza arrived at the four on the floor, she glared at the two trouble makers and said darkly, "you two better be not creating another ruckus in this guild, we've had enough in one day!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Gray and Natsu said together in unison.

Juvia and Lucy only sweat dropped at this, and thought together as well, _"you're one to talk, you were the first person to cause a fiasco in this guild today!" _

"Good, now sit your butts back in your seats." Erza commanded. The frightened duo nodded and quickly rushed to their seats, followed by Erza, Lucy, and Juvia. "Lucy, I'm going back to my house to prepare for tonight, would you like to come? You also have a date with Natsu, so we can stop by your place and pick up your dress and get ready at my dorm. We could also take a bath at the dorm baths, so get your hygiene items as well."

"Okay! I can help you with your hair, make up, accessories, dress adjustments, and many more!" Lucy happily chirped, "Come on! Let's get going!" She sprung up from her chair again and grabbed Erza's hand, only to drag her to her apartment.

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><p>On the way to Lucy's apartment, walking through the town, there was an eerie silence. Lucy couldn't think of what to say, but all of a sudden, she remembered being kicked out of the Master's room by Jellal the other day. <em>'That's right!' <em>Lucy remembered in her head, _'What happened after I was kicked out? Since Erza's going on a date with Jellal, is it safe to presume that Erza and Jellal are officially a couple? I need to ask, now's the perfect chance! But, Natsu was the one who told me about them, he didn't exactly say much about it…' _ "So, Erza!" She started, "What happened after Jellal kicked me and master out of the room yesterday?"

Erza blushed in remembrance of yesterday, when Jellal hugged her. _'Wait, why am I so embarrassed about that?!' _"Nothing much, but can you answer something for me?"

"Hmm? Sure Erza." Lucy replied

"How does it feel…to be…in love?" Erza didn't want to ask that question, but she had no choice, she had to confirm her feelings for Jellal, whether it be in love, to hate him, or even be just neutral as a friend. Maybe Jellal can be more than a friend for Erza.

"Well…to be in love is like the best feeling in the world!" Lucy squealed

'_That's not much help…' _Erza thought

"It's kind of hard to explain, but, what I _do _know about love, is that you have to show extra affection to the one you care about. You'll always be there for them, you'll give a shoulder to cry on, you'd comfort that person nonstop, you'd hold him in your arms as long as they need it, and you'd want to stay on their side for the longest time, that's how I feel towards Natsu, and I'm sure he exactly feels the same way towards me. There are also tons of other meanings for love, so it's really vague within the meaning of love"

'_So that's partly what love is… but I don't even feel the slightest feeling of it for Jellal, not in the slightest to anyone anyway! But that hug yesterday was so warming…NO! Get a hold of yourself Erza, be strong! You don't love him! He's your childhood friend, and friend it shall always be!' _Erza doubted herself being in love.

"Anyways, Erza!" Lucy started another topic, "are you and Jellal dating?! I mean you have a date tonight!"

"What!? Jellal aren't dating! And it's not a date, it's a time where Jellal and I hang out and catch up with each other!" Erza blushed furiously

"Riiiiight, I'm sure you liiiiike him…" Lucy smiled deviously

"What are you? Happy?!" Erza said, thinking of the blue cat from Lucy's statement.

"Nope! Just being Lucy!" She happily chirped, "Oh look! We're here! Come on in!" _'For once, Erza is entering properly into my house, invited, and through the door!' _They then entered Lucy's house hold, "Would you like some tea while I get my stuff?"

"No thanks, just get your stuff, I'll be sitting in the kitchen." Erza replied. With that said, Lucy went off to get her stuff, leaving Erza to think to herself.

'_Love…To passionately care or have concern over…' _Jellal then crossed her mind once more, but she shook it off. She realized something then, even if she confronted her feelings to Jellal earlier, Erza still didn't feel at peace just yet. She just sighed as if it were the hundredth time of the day.

"Erza? You okay? You look…stressed, "Lucy came out of nowhere, with her stuff, asking in concern.

"I don't know if I can face Jellal again, something keeps tugging in my chest when I think of him… I don't know if I can see him tonight."

Lucy looked shocked at Erza's statement of her feelings, _'could this be?! Erza's in love? With, Jellal?! How can I have not seen this? Well…She did ask me a bit about love, how first dates go and all that stuff... I can't tell Erza she's in love; she has to figure it out herself! Jellal loves her and she may possibly have the same feelings without noticing. Really, that's how dense Erza can be sometimes… If Erza were to realize she loves Jellal, it would only mean that their relationship is slowly rebuilding again. And she has to do this all herself, with a little help from me in case…'_

"I can't tell you what's troubling you, but what I _can _tell you is that if you confront Jellal tonight, there will be a chance in the future to find out what's currently eating at you." Lucy comforted

Erza still looked uncertain about going anyway, if she were to go, she could find out what's on her mind, but if she doesn't see Jellal, she'll hurt him and destroy what little connection of their relationship as friends were. She thought for a moment until she spoken up, "Okay, I'll go see him tonight." Lucy only smiled at this, she was happy that Erza was reaching out to other people and opening up, experiencing new feelings.

"Alright then, let's go!" Lucy cheered

* * *

><p>With Jellal…<p>

As Jellal was walking to his temporary apartment, he crossed paths with Doranbalt, "What do you want, magic council member?" Jellal spat the last few words. Jellal was never too fond of the magic council or anyone related to them.

"I am only here to talk to you," Doranbalt replied, "because you have accepted the Fairy Tail symbol on your arm, promising that you have complete loyalty in your guild, you are prohibited to harm anyone. In consequences if offended others, you will be put to prison again, away from society, for the rest of your life."

Jellal didn't hesitate to respond, "I am aware of the consequences, however, this time, for sure, I will _not _mess this up, for Erza, her friends, and for my own. I have vowed to never harm another innocent being with my magic ever again."

Doranbalt in return, did not reply, signaling the end of their conversation. Jellal's mood changed. "I better go now, I got a date with Erza!~" Jellal sang, then skipped happily off.

Once Jellal had arrived home, he rushed to acquire his suit, went to wash up, and prepare himself before going to see Erza.

~An hour later~

Jellal was now ready to meet up with Erza.

* * *

><p>With Erza and Lucy<p>

The girls were now ready for their dates as well, prepped with a simple amount of makeup and wearing their beautiful dresses.

Lucy didn't want Erza to find out she was going to the same place with Natsu, so she said her good byes and ran off to a short cut to 8Island, finding Natsu at a booth, already waiting for his girlfriend Lucy, as well as Jellal and Erza.

**Let the date begin!**

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><p>(AN): Sorry for not updating for such a long time! It's just that I couldn't organize this properly, and I had to look for Fairy Tail job fliers and stuff, until then, I got really lazy to continue to write…I'm so sorry! Then I got my friend to proof read and stuff. I hope it's not too cheesy… sorry, I can't update like once a week or two, I'm always busy too, with tutors, lessons, Chinese school, homework, etc. I'll try to update soon as I can! It makes me feel guilty to know that I LOVE reading Fanfics, yet I don't even work on mine. I see on DeviantArt on my watch, a lot of new chapters updating every day on the same series. Though the chapters are short, they're good and update fast! Remember, quantity over quality!


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